“Disappointing and unacceptable.” Those were the words used by Barnstable Community Horace Mann Charter Public School Principal Marilee Cantelmo to describe her school’s 2013 MCAS scores.

Cantelmo offered her sentiments during the Oct. 16 school committee meeting, acknowledging concerns, which she attributed to the school’s changing demographics since its move from Marstons Mills to Hyannis following district restructuring in 2009.

Student performance at BCHMCPS saw significant drops in the Advanced and Proficient categories, particularly in reading, while percentages in the Needs Improvement category rose.

In 2012 test scores showed 69 percent of students in the Proficient or Higher category in reading, versus 54 percent in 2013. Twenty-three percent of students fell into the Advanced category in reading in 2012, versus just 4 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, only 28 percent of students were listed as Needs Improvement in 2012, versus 41 in 2013.

While math scores saw only slight changes, the majority of scores from the third grade tests showed that BCHMCPS students are performing at levels below their peers in both reading and math.

In looking at individual MCAS scores, and those of various subgroups, the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education determines whether a school district is performing acceptably enough to meet the goals of its students. Using the Progress and Performance Index (PPI), districts are given scores based on their ability to meet the needs of students overall and in specified subgroups. Because BCHMCPS is a charter school, it is considered its own district with separate governance from Barnstable Schools, and receives separate MCAS data from the state.

In 2010 the school’s annual PPI was 138. Its 2013 annual PPI was 25, with the state noting that the school is “not meeting gap narrowing goals” of its subgroups. For a group to be considered to be making progress toward narrowing such gaps, the cumulative PPI must be 75 or higher.

Cantelmo said the school’s demographics are a significant factor.

“One of the challenges that we have at our school is that our demographics are constantly changing,” she said, adding that when the school was located in Marstons Mills, the percentage of English Language Learners was at 0 percent. “It’s now 14.”

School committee members disagreed with Cantelmo’s logic, citing the performance of students at Hyannis West as an example.

“Hyannis West significantly outperformed the charter in math,” said school committee member Patrick Murphy, who suggested that Cantelmo, along with her staff and governing board, meet with educators at Hyannis West in a “best practices” conversation.

Murphy noted that while demographics at BCHMCPS might be diverse, HyWest has the highest percentage of economically challenged students in the district.

“Their percentage of students who fall within that ‘challenging’ population is effectively double your rate,” Murphy told Cantelmo. “They have a tougher population of students. I hope you use this as an opportunity to open up the conversations [and] look for some support and some ideas from the school right down the street.”

School Committee Chair Margeaux Weber said that given the fact that BCHMCPS has been in Hyannis for several years, ‘changing demographics’ is inaccurate.

“I think your demographics have changed,” Weber said. “You’re not in Marstons Mills anymore. Your demographics are what they are.”

Committee member Chris Joyce was baffled by the difference in attendance by BCHMCPS faculty from the last school committee meeting when almost the entire school attended in support of its charter renewal, and the fact that Cantelmo was on her own for the MCAS presentation.

“We sat through a number of meetings to make sure you got your charter renewed. Tonight you’re on a float by yourself,” Joyce said. “I would look very hard in the mirror and ask, ‘Why isn’t there anyone here behind me?’ You have a body of students and parents that talked very highly about what you’re doing there. How come no one showed up? Not only do you come here with horrible MCAS scores, you’re all by yourself. Something’s not clicking. You’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Cantelmo assured the committee that no one was more committed to improving the scores than she, and said the school’s ultimate goal is to become a Level 1 school according to state standards, but noted that it will be difficult.

“This challenge is too big for one leader – me – to solve,” she said. “All stakeholders must help find solutions to our challenges. All of our educators are invested in looking deeply at the data to see where our strengths are and what needs working on.”

Cantelmo presented plans for improvement, which include aligning the school’s curriculum with Common Core standards, ensuring effective instruction, utilizing multiple assessment tools and working toward strengthening bonds between families and the school.

“We will continue to move forward,” she said. “We know where we stand and we know where we want to go and our goal is to be a Level 1 school.”

Prior to the presentation, BCHMCPS board vice chair Andrea Wood spoke about the charter school board during public comment.

“A big part of a successful charter school board requires a balance of expertise,” Wood said, adding that trustees are charged with managing the budget, fulfilling the charter, advocating and being responsible for preserving the vision and mission of the school and much more.

Wood said the current board is striving toward complete transparency with regard to governance and accountability, in keeping with the new Memorandum of Understanding between BCHMCPS and the Barnstable School District.

Spots for community members are available, Wood said, and those interested are invited to apply.